Chemical apparatus



N 21, 1950 M. H. KOTZEBUE 2,530,527

,Cl-IEMICAL APPARATUS Filed July 15, 1947 INVENTOR.

MEIN HARD H. KOT ZEBUE ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 CHEMICAL APPARATUS MeinhardH. Kotwebue, Houston, Tex.,'a-ssignor to- Gela-nese- Corporation of America, acorporation of Delaware Application July 15, 1947, Serial No.'761;049

(i-Claims. i

This invention relates to chemical apparatus and relates "more particularly to a reaction vessel of improved design adapted to be employed "in eifectin'g chemical reactions in the 'gaseousphase.

:An object" of this invention is the provision of an improved reaction vessel for use in enacting oxidation reactions in the gaseous phase wherein gaseous hydrocarbons are're'acted with oxygento yield 'oxvgenated products economically and expeditiously'.

Another obiect of this invention 'is to provide a reaction vessel which is adapted to be employed in effecting hydrocarbon oxidation reactions in the gaseous phase and which enables c ose -con trol of th oxidation reaction-to be maintained.

A further obiect'o'f'this invention is the nrovislon of a reaction vessel wherein all parts are free to exnand andeontract when the same is em ployed'at elevated reactiontemp ratureswithout the use of expansion joints, pipe bends, and' the like.

'Otherobjects of'this invention will ap ear-from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing; wherein a preferred einbodl ment of my invention is shown,

Fig. 1 is a side-elevation'al view of my novel reaction vessel, partlybroken awav to show the inlet headers for the gaseous hv'drocarbon and oxygen feed and the out-let for the gaseous reinvention comprises, in the lower portion there of, an'ou'ter cylindrical shell Asupported upon abase 5' and provided with a hydrocarbon gas inlet header 6 which is fixed thereto by a welded seam Telescopically arranged within shell -4 is a second cylindrical shell 8 of lesser diameter; Shell 4 is l oined to shell 8 at an annular shoulder 9, integral'with shell 4, welded to shell' a'along' a seam Ill and at an annular bafile H welded to shells '4 and B-a'long seams l2 and ['3, respectively. Inner shell 8, between shoulder 9 and annu'larballl'e H, is provided with a plurality "of perforations l4 arranged circumferenti'ally of said "shell. The annular space between shoulder Sand ba'ille I l forms amani'fold lt'which-oauses the hydrocarbon gas entering through gas inlet header- 6 and passing through said perforations M to be distributed uniformly.

The gas 'flows through ma'nifold 15 and foratio'ns l4 and'pa'sses upward through an annular space 16 defined by the inner surf-adder shellll and the outer surface of an inner tune I! telescopically arranged within shell 8. "Tube H is provided with a plurality of circumferentially disposed fi-ns' 'Hl which cover a 'portion of Said tube and extend from "the upper end downward 1y. Other suitable projections such as "spirals; rods, etc. for increasing th heat transfer sm-' face may also bee'rnployed. Thel'owe'r portion "of tube I1 is joined'to outer'shell li' by a-sli'oulder" 1:9" and a'welded sea-m t9" thus Sealing oh the base ofsh'ell 8. Below seam l ll', tube I! is'int'egi 'ail' with an elbow 2i! welded to shell d alling a seam 2'l,said elbow 20 also being integral with a horizontal tube section 2i. A pipe zi'fthe'fun'ction of which will be hereinafter described; ooniinuni: cates with elbow 28' and is made integral therewith 'by a welded seam '23.

The air or o'xygensupp ied to effect the oxide tion' reaction enters through a feedpipe 2'4 ro-= vided with a series oiperforation 25 at the low'ei end thereof. Pipe 24' enters she'll =8' 'throiigh a packed gland, generally indicated byreference numeral 26', comprising an annularnange 21 iii? tegral with shell '8 and an annulus 28 fitting-'- loosely about pipe '24. Annulus 28"is provided with-a plurality of bolt holes (not shown in detail) adapted to receive a plurality of bolts 29:- each threaded at the base 'thereof'which 'regis te'r with a series of holes (not shown) suitahly formed and tapped in annular flange 2'! to receive said" bolts. The onnularspa'ce' 3% formed between "flange 2 and annulus '28 is provided with a suitable packing (not shown) 'so' thatwhen threaded bolts 29-are' taken up a gas 'tight fit is" obtained. i

Pipe zl-is' supported by means of a spider, gen-- erally indicated by reference numeral -31, com-- rising a collar 32-we1ded 'tc'pipe Manda pluralitv of "symmetrically disposed supporting arms 33'.- The'latter are eaohprov id'ed flanges 34 which are suitablybol ted tove'rtical supporting members 35 by means of bolts 36 passing through suitable holes (not shown) formed. through vertical supporting members 35 and disposed-along the length thereof. The lower ends of" supporting members 35 are welded to shell 8.

The arrangement described allows feed pipe? 24 to be vertically adjusted with respectto tube l7. Thus, when it is desired to ohan'gethe' ver: tical position of pipe '21 the :elements'of packed gland 26 are released by loosening bolts 29, bolts 36 supporting spider 3| are removed and pipe 24 is then shifted up or down, as necessary. After the desired adjustment has been made bolts 36 are replaced so that they register in the holes provided in supporting members 35 at the new level, and bolts 29 in packed gland 26 are then taken up sufficiently to produce the desired gas-tight fit.

When employing my novel reaction vessel for effecting the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons in the gaseous phase, the preheated hydrocarbon feed enters through gas inlet header 6 under pressure and is distributed by manifold It so as to pass through circumferential perforations l4 and flow upward through annular space [6 in a substantially even volume. The air or oxygen which is employed to react with the hydrocarbon gas feed enters through pipe 24 and is distributed evenly through perforations 25 at the discharge end thereof. The gaseous hydrocarbon stream and the oxygen or air meet in tube H and an exothermic partial oxidation reaction takes place, causing fins I8 on tube I? to become heated. The heated fins, or other projections, serve to preheat the entering hydrocarbon feed to reaction temperature once the partial oxidation motion is initiated. This eliminates the necessity of any external preheating of the feed. The oxidation reaction continues as the oxidation products formed pass down tube H. The oxidation reaction is then halted by quenching the reaction gases to cool the same below reaction temperature by means of a stream of water, 01 other quench liquid, which is forced in through pipeZZ. When water acts as the quench liquid, the product obtained comprises an aqueous solution of oxygenated reaction products, gaseous products and uncondensed gases. The mixture is removed, the oxygenated products separated into their individual components and unreacted oxygen and hydrocarbon recycled to the reactor.

My novel reaction vessel permits very close control of the oxidation reaction to be achieved and, therefore, the degree of oxidation effected due to the fact that the duration of the reaction, for any particular hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons, may be increased or decreased the desired degree by merely shifting adjustable pipe 24 up or down as the case may be. With pipe 24 in the position shown in Fig.1 the reaction is of relatively long duration since the reaction will continue down through tube [1 until quenched by the water forced in through pipe 22. With the discharge end of adjustable air inlet pipe 24 close to quench inlet pipe 22, the duration of the reaction will be relatively short since the cooling action of the quench will act to halt the oxidation reaction before it has proceeded very far. Thus, any desired reaction time may be achieved depending upon the type of oxygenated products desired and the necessary duration of the oxidation reaction to form the same.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

r 1. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, an external shell provided with a plu rality of inlets for introducing chemical reactants therein and a discharge tube for removing the reaction products formed, said dscharge tube extending a substantial distance within said shell and being spaced therefrom, one of said inlets communicating with the space formed between said shell and said tube and another inlet extending partly within said product discharge tube and its position being adjustable relative to said tube.

2. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, a cylindrical external shell provided with a, plurality of inlets for introducing chemical reactants therein and a discharge tube for removing the reaction products formed, said discharge tube extending a substantial distance within said shell and being positioned to form an annular space, one of said inlets communicating with the annular space formed between said shell and said tube and another inlet comprising a tube extending partly Within said products discharge tube and its position being adjustable relative to said tube.

3. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, a cylindrical external shell provided with a plurality of inlets for introducing chemical reactants therein and a discharge tube for removing the reaction products formed, said discharge tube extending a substantial distance within said shell and being positioned to form an annular space, a manifold coextensive with a portion of said annular space and communicating therewith, one of said inlets leading into said manifold, and another inlet comprising a tube extending partly within said product discharge tube and its position being adjustable relative to said tube.

4. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, a cylindrical external shell provided with a plurality of inlets for introducing chemical reactants therein and a discharge tube for removing the reaction products formed, said discharge tube extending a substantial distance within said shell and being positioned to form an annular space, a tube leading into the base of said product discharge tube through which a fiuid material may be injected into the reactionproduct discharge stream, a manifold coextensive with a portion of said annular space and communicating therewith, one of said inlets leading into said manifold, and another inlet comprising a tube extending partly within said product discharge tube and its position being adjustable relative to said tube.

5. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, a cylindrical external shell provided with a plurality of inlets for introducing chemical annular space and communicating with thelatter through perforations in said shell, one of said inlets leading into said manifold and another inlet comprising a tube provided-with a plurality of perforations at the discharge end and extending partly within said product discharge tube and its position being adjustable relative to said discharge tube.

6. In a reaction vessel for effecting chemical reactions, a cylindrical external shell provided with a plurality of inlets for introducing chemical reactants therein and a discharge tube for removing the reaction products formed, said discharge tube extending a substantial distance within said shell and being positioned to form an annular space, fins covering portion of the upper part of said discharge tube and projecting into said annular space, a tube leading into the base of said product discharge tube through which a fluid material may be injected into the reaction product discharge stream, a manifold coextensive with a portion of said external shell and annular space and communicating with the latter through perforations in said shell, one of said inlets leading into said manifold and another inlet comprising a tube provided with a plurality of perforations at the discharge end and extending partly within said product discharge tube, a packed gland integral with the external shell for receiving the last-named inlet tube and means attached to said inlet tube whereby the same may be adjustably positioned relative to said discharge tube.

MEINHARD H. KOTZEBUE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATESPATENTS Number Name Date 1,738,620 Umpleby Dec. 10, 1929 2,104,858 Ferguson Jan. 11, 1938 2,288,951 Jones July 7, 1942 2,472,254 Johnson June '7, 1949 

1. IN A REACTION VESSEL FOR EFFECTING CHEMICAL REACTIONS, AN EXTERNAL SHELL PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF INLETS FOR INTRODUCING CHEMICAL REACTANTS THEREIN AND A DISCHARGE TUBE FOR REMOVING THE REACTION PRODUCTS FORMED, SAID DISCHARGE TUBE EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE WITHIN SAID SHELL AND BEING SPACED THEREFROM, ONE OF SAID INLETS COMMUNICATING WITH THE SPACE FORMED BETWEEN SAID SHELL AND SAID TUBE AND ANOTHER INLET EXTENDING PARTLY WITHIN SAID PRODUCT DISCHARGE TUBE 